The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s investigator, Bello Hamma-Adama, on Wednesday, revealed how N75 million was recovered from Halima Tanimu Turaki, wife of a former minister in the President Goodluck Jonathan-led government.
Tanimu Turaki was a minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs between 2013 and 2015 and also served as the supervising minister for the Federal Ministry of Labour between 2014 and 2015.
Mr. Hamma-Adama, the fifth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Mrs. Turaki, made the revelation before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The EFCC had arraigned the former minister (first defendant) alongside his former Special Assistant, Sampson Okpetu (second defendant), and two firms (Samtee Essentials Ltd and Pasco Investment Ltd), on 16 counts of money laundering.
Although the duo pleaded not guilty to the charges, the anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants used the companies to launder about N845 million stolen from the two ministries.
While being led in evidence-in-chief by counsel to the EFCC, Mohammed Abubakar, the witness said about N359 million was moved from the Ministry of Special Duties for a sensitisation project for the government.
Mr. Hamma-Adama said the money was later transferred in tranches into private individuals’ accounts. Giving the breakdown, he said N45 million was transferred to the minister’s brother, Abdullahi Maigwandu, through his Zenith Bank account. Out of the N45 million, he said Mr. Maigwandu transferred N20 million to the Guarantee Trust Bank account of Mrs. Turaki.
According to him, N20 million was transferred to O-Pec Nig Ltd while N5 million was withdrawn in China using the ATM of Mr. Maigwandu by the ex-minister’s wife to procure furniture.
“N30 million was transferred to Abubakar Sani Gude’s Zenith Bank account from the ministry’s account and the N30 million was sent to the wife of the first defendant (Turaki),” he said.
Mr. Hamma-Adama disclosed when Maigwandu was invited for interrogation, he confessed that the money came from the ministry and he neither had any business with the ministry nor engaged in any sensitisation exercise.
The witness said Mr. Maigwandu, a civil servant in Kebbi with a monthly salary of N33,000, also told the EFCC that the N45 million was received by the minister’s wife.
“We called for Maigwandu’s account statement in Zenith Bank. We discovered he is a civil servant in Kebbi on a salary of about N33,000. We suspected a case of money laundering and we did a network analysis and we discovered that he could not have owned that money because he is on N33,000 salary,” Mr. Hamma-Adama added.
He said Mr. Maigwandu told the investigators that every money in the account belonged to Mr. Turaki, except his salary.
“He said he is a brother of the former minister and that the money was transferred on his instruction,” the EFCC operative pointed out.
He hinted that as of the time the N45 million was transferred to Mr. Maigwandu, he had about N7,300 in his account.
He said with all the information gathered, Mrs. Turaki was invited by the EFCC.
“She came alongside the first defendant (her husband) and a lawyer. On video, she mentioned that the transaction was done at her instance. She said she is a housewife.
“She said she was not a contractor with the Ministry of Special Duties. She said she did not carry out any sensitisation exercise for the ministry. We asked if she knew Gode and Gwandu and she said she did. She said the transaction was her transaction and it was done on her instructions,” the witness recounted.
Mr. Hamma-Adama, who told the court that Mrs. Turaki, through her lawyer, Abdulaziz Ibrahim, representing the third defendant in the ongoing trial, refunded N75 million to the EFCC.
He explained further that N50 million was transferred to Abdulrahman Yusuf, a bureau de change operator, a friend and business associate of Mr. Turaki, adding Mr. Yusuf made some money transfers to the former minister and sent N20 million to the second defendant’s company, Samtee Essentials Ltd.
The witness said Mr. Yusuf, who had several bank accounts, also confessed that he did not carry out any sensitisation programme for the ministry.
Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter until February 9 and 10 for the trial continuation.
